Emerging Brands Podcast

In Part 2 of this week's recap of Expo West, I'm back with Danielle Calabrese, founder of It's All Happening , to take you directly onto the show floor. While Part 1 was about the massive community events, this episode explores the strategic reality for early-stage brands navigating the world's largest natural products trade show. We're going behind the scenes of what it looks like when emerging b...

This week on Emerging Brands Podcast®, I am kicking off a high-energy, 3-part recap of Natural Products Expo West 2026. To dive into the highlights, I'm joined by my friend and co-host Danielle Calabrese, founder of It's All Happening , to pull back the curtain on the community moments that defined the show. In Part 1, we're recapping the activations we helped bring to life in Anaheim—from high-st...

From her early days as a pastry chef to her two decades at Whole Foods Market, Holly Long has spent her career championing the people behind the products. As the former Principal Forager for Whole Foods, Holly became a legendary advocate for local and emerging brands, guiding them through the complexities of market entry. Today, she brings that same passion for community to her role as the Directo...

After noticing the soft drink category had remained stagnant and uninspired for decades, Olly Dixon co-founded Something & Nothing to disrupt the status quo. He saw a landscape filled with sugar-heavy, over-processed options and realized people were craving something more elevated. By blending high-end design with cleaner ingredients, Olly set out to prove that a soda could be both a sophisticated...

I'm coming to you live from Natural Products Expo West with Chrissy Teigen, inside the Cravings by Chrissy Teigen booth! Over the past year, Cravings has become one of the fastest-growing pantry brands in the category. Its non-GMO baking mixes have emerged as a major growth engine, expanding into national retailers like Kroger and Thrive Market, along with regional leaders including HEB and Raley'...

Sam Niemann has been a gardener for as long as he can remember. From sneaking out as a teenager to ride his bike to the local garden center to working in horticulture ever since, Sam's life has been defined by the joy of growing things. He founded Bleume with a singular, heartfelt goal: to inspire others to experience that same joy by making plant care simpler and more connected. Based in Chicago,...

After a career in the legal world, Emily Cole Groden set out to solve a common breakfast dilemma: the choice between a quick meal and a nutritious one. Driven by a desire for clean-label options for her own family, Emily launched Evergreen to prove that frozen convenience doesn't have to mean compromising on ingredients or flavor. Evergreen is a better-for-you frozen breakfast brand reimagining th...

Born in Togo, Olowo-n'djo Tchala founded Alaffia in 2004 to bridge the gap between West African traditional knowledge and the global beauty market. Driven by his upbringing and a commitment to gender equality, Olowo-n'djo has spent over twenty years using ethical business as a tool to alleviate poverty and empower the communities he calls home. Alaffia is a clean, fair-trade beauty brand that part...

The energy for Expo West 2026 is already building, and in this solo episode, I'm giving you a sneak peek at where I'll be, what I'm hosting, and how we can connect on the ground in Anaheim. From the high-stakes Pitch Slam to the return of a community event, this year is all about high-level innovation and high-impact connection. I'm breaking down the details for the CPG Innovation Summit , where I...

After a decade as a General Partner at Revolution Ventures, Clara Sieg turned her analytical eye toward the most foundational thing we consume: water. Triggered by the toxins and microplastics she discovered during her pregnancy, Clara traded her venture capital seat for a mission to build a transparent, reliable solution for the modern family. Loonen is the first third-party-verified water that i...

Diana Nino believes that joy and discipline are partners, not opposites. A Miami-born builder of spaces and curator of community, Diana lives at the intersection of high energy and deep intention. Her brand, salsi, is a love letter to the creative and social fabric of her city—a vibrant tequila seltzer designed for a full life lived without the burnout. Salsi is mindful by design and Miami by hear...

Healthy living shouldn't mean sitting out on the social moments you love. Created by Parker Papaccio, SIPPL Mixology (Simple. Supplemental. Sipping.) was built on the belief that the best lives prioritize balance over restriction. By creating a functional margarita mix that lives in the "gray area" where wellness meets real life, SIPPL is proving you can care about how you feel without sacrificing...

Tatyana Jones is a true powerhouse in the CPG world. After managing a $500M snacking portfolio at Mars Wrigley and turning around massive innovation portfolios at GSK, she realized the $27B chocolate category was missing something vital: a high-protein option that didn't taste like a compromise. Leveraging years of big-brand firepower and an NYU Stern MBA, Tatyana founded DEFI Snacks to shatter th...

Michael Zabar's culinary roots run deep. As a fourth-generation member of the family behind the iconic NYC deli, Zabar's, Michael's first job was scooping coffee for customers. After a successful career in tech and e-commerce at Walmart, he felt a pull back to his roots. The spark came from his own kitchen, where he and his wife began crafting homemade syrups to fix a problem in the market: coffee...

In this solo episode, I'm breaking down the founder mindset I've seen make or break brands before they ever hit shelves. After 15+ years working alongside hundreds of founders — and currently supporting 20+ pre-launch brands coming to market this year — I've learned that success isn't about doing more. It's about getting clear first. Inside the Episode: Why strategy should come before packaging or...

After years as a Guinness World Records judge and advertising executive, Charlie Weisman realized that the household items we use every day are often dull and uninspired. While stuck in his NYC apartment during the pandemic, he founded Staff to bring joy to the mundane. By reimagining functional tools with bold colors, unique materials, and helpful characters, Charlie is turning overlooked essenti...

Before you lock in a co-manufacturer, print packaging, or order your first production run… pause. In this solo episode, I'm walking through the biggest (and most expensive) mistakes I see first-time CPG food & beverage founders make — and how brand strategy should guide every decision before you spend a dollar on inventory. Because your logo, packaging, flavors, and even your brand name shouldn't...

Nicole Schlesinger traded her corporate NYC desk for butchery classes at the Institute of Culinary Education after realizing the jerky market was dominated by sugary, "candy-like" options. Obsessed with quality, she squeezed two oversized dehydrators into her tiny apartment to perfect small-batch, chef-driven recipes that prioritized premium meat and clean ingredients over the industry standard. T...

Danielle Calabrese is a CPG powerhouse with over 16 years of experience scaling brands from zero to $40M and guiding more than 100 founders to collective sales of over $100M. Known for her "build smarter, not harder" philosophy, Danielle has secured dozens of SKUs with top-tier retailers and distributors, making her one of the industry's most sought-after advisors for navigating the complex journe...

Kimmy Pace, a former technology consultant, turned her lifelong struggle with chronic dehydration and gut sensitivity into a mission after discovering Korean roasted barley tea in a novel. Realizing that most "better-for-you" drinks were too sugary or carbonated for her system, she began brewing her own at home. This gentle, grounding ritual became the foundation for a beverage brand designed for...

Alex Adam, Founder and Creative Director of Boredom Kills Creative, spent a decade in the music industry witnessing how powerful branding can build and unite communities across the world. This unique background gave him a deep understanding of market impact and emotional resonance, leading him to transition his expertise from the stage to the shelf. Alex now applies those lessons in cultural conne...

Anabel González, an ex-Parsons creative and founder of Good Bacteria, transformed her personal postpartum healing journey into a mission to fix a major flaw in the wellness industry: the lack of microbial diversity in traditional probiotics. Recognizing that static supplements often fall short, Anabel collaborated with a scientific advisory board from institutions like Johns Hopkins, Oxford, and S...

Daniel Schwarz, Founder and CEO of CHUZA, is a leader who finds inspiration in the concept of poise under pressure. In Mexico, the word "CHUZA" carries a powerful double meaning: it signifies a strike for success, that precise moment when perfection is reached and the momentum continues. This philosophy was personified during the early days of the pandemic by a daily visitor to Daniel's window, an...

After 15 years in the industry and currently guiding over 15 pre-launch founders, I've realized that while many people have a great product idea, few have the "order of operations" down. Launching a brand that actually stays on the shelf requires more than just a good recipe; it requires a strategic foundation built before you ever pick a name or design a logo. In this solo episode, I am walking y...

Shibani Baluja launched Lil' Gourmets with a mission to move baby food out of the dusty, shelf-stable aisle and into the refrigerated section where freshness and nutrients truly live. Based on the latest infant nutrition research, Lil' Gourmets offers fresh, organic, globally inspired meals that provide 100% of a baby's daily vegetable requirements with zero added salt or sugar. With a professiona...